Hammocks are a popular form of outdoor leisure furniture. One way of supporting hammocks is by connection to two closely located trees or posts. However, connection to trees or fixed posts limits the available locations where a hammock may be supported. More particularly, often the environments in which the use of hammocks is most desirable, such as the beach or an open sunny area of the yard, are generally lacking in suitable structures to which the ends of hammocks can be attached.
One solution in the past is to create a device which provides the necessary structure for suspending a hammock from its two ends so that it is maintained in a state where it swings freely above the ground. One requirement for such structures is that they must be quite large since they must accommodate a fully extended hammock in a supported manner, including a reasonable length of rope or chain at either end to permit the hammock to be suspended in a comfortable position for a user, and to allow the hammock to swing freely.
Typically, prior art hammock stands have generally been large bulky devices, which for shipping purposes must also be capable of being assembled and disassembled. In this regard, a typical prior art configuration is a large elongate arch which stands upright on the ground and supports a hammock between its two ends. In the past such devices have been constructed of a large number of pieces which require bolting together to form an inverted arch. A typical construction includes two curved end sections which are joined by a pair of parallel elongate central pieces to form the inverted arch.
However, such constructions have the disadvantage that each of the respective two sections must be of considerable length in order to provide a sufficiently large structure to accommodate and support a hammock. They are also heavy and require complex bolt arrangements to assemble.
For the above reasons, what is needed is a stand for a hammock which combines the features of attractiveness with physical strength, ease of assembly, and compactness of size and weight in a disassembled state.